Embryonic Stem Cell News and Research

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Researchers find stem cells in degenerating spinal discs, potential for repair

Orthopedic researchers at Jefferson Medical College have for the first time found stem cells in the intervertebral discs of the human spine, suggesting that such cells might someday be used to help repair degenerating discs and remedy lower back and neck pain.

2 Nov 2007

New Jersey appellate court rules referendum asking voters to approve $450M for stem cell research should remain on ballot

A three-judge panel of a New Jersey appellate court on Friday unanimously ruled that a Nov. 6 referendum that would allow the state to borrow $450 million over 10 years to fund stem cell research in the state should not be removed from the ballot, the New York Times reports (Peters, New York Times, 10/27).

30 Oct 2007

A new source of islet cells

The shortage of islet cells limits the development of islet transplantation. One new approach was reported in the October 21 issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology because of its great significance in enhancing the output of islet cells.

25 Oct 2007

Public not so sure about 'personalized medicine'

Ordinary people worry about the extra, and often burdensome, responsibilities which could come with scientists' promises of 'personalised medicine', according to evidence to be presented at a major two-day showcase of groundbreaking social science research into the whole field of genomics, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

25 Oct 2007

Researchers discover important tool in understanding differentiation in human embryonic stem cells

Researchers at the University of Minnesota's Stem Cell Institute have described how an existing genetic tool can be used to study how human embryonic stem cells differentiate.

24 Oct 2007

New stem cells by reprogramming

Researchers are discovering new ways to help ‘de-program' specialised cells so that they can be re-programmed to form a range of different types of tissue, an international meeting of stem cell biologists was told.

18 Oct 2007

Adult stem cells lack key pluripotency regulator

The protein Oct4 plays a major role in embryonic stem cells, acting as a master regulator of the genes that keep the cells in an undifferentiated state.

10 Oct 2007

Mario Capecchi shares Nobel Prize in medicine for knockout mice technology

Mario R. Capecchi, Ph.D., distinguished professor of human genetics and biology at the University of Utah's Eccles Institute of Human Genetics and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, has won the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

9 Oct 2007

Sir Martin Evans wins Nobel prize for stem cell research

Medical Research Council funded scientist Sir Martin Evans, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2007 alongside Mario R. Capecchi and Oliver Smithies for their discoveries of "principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells".

9 Oct 2007

Human embryonic stem cells remain embryonic because of epigenetic factors

A human embryonic stem cell is reined in - prevented from giving up its unique characteristics of self-renewal and pluripotency - by the presence of a protein modification that stifles any genes that would prematurely instruct the cell to develop into heart or other specialized tissue.

4 Oct 2007

Stem cells may aid national security

For more than a decade, Steve Stice has dedicated his research using embryonic stem cells to improving the lives of people with degenerative diseases and debilitating injuries.

26 Sep 2007

Some cancer cells mimic stem cells to evade chemotherapy

Anti-cancer treatments often effectively shrink the size of tumors, but some might have an opposite effect, actually expanding the small population of cancer stem cells believed to drive the disease, according to findings presented Sept. 19 by Vasyl Vasko, M.D. Ph.D., a pathologist at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) at the American Association for Cancer Research's second International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development.

25 Sep 2007

Some cancer cells mimic stem cells to evade chemotherapy

Anti-cancer treatments often effectively shrink the size of tumors, but some might have an opposite effect, actually expanding the small population of cancer stem cells believed to drive the disease, according to findings presented in Atlanta, Georgia at the American Association for Cancer Research's second International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development.

20 Sep 2007

Testes offer a promising new source of stem cells

After a decade of research, Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists have succeeded in reprogramming adult stem cells from the testes of male mice into functional blood vessels and contractile cardiac tissue.

20 Sep 2007

Women undergoing IVF to donate eggs for stem cell research in return for reduced treatment costs

The Medical Research Council (MRC) is to fund a research proposal from a team at the North East England Stem Cell Institute (NESCI) for a project to find ways of improving the efficiency of therapeutic cloning - a technique which would allow scientists to create patient-specific stem cells and develop regenerative therapies for many debilitating conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and Parkinson’s disease.

13 Sep 2007

New Rensselaer tools speed stem cell research

Engineers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed tools to help solve two of the main problems slowing the progress of stem cell research - how to quickly test stem cell response to different drugs or genes, and how to create a large supply of healthy, viable stem cells to study from only a few available cells.

13 Sep 2007

Embryonic stem cell strategy advanced with UCSF finding

UCSF scientists are reporting what they say is a significant improvement in the technique for genetically reprogramming mouse cells to their embryonic state, a process that transforms the cells, in essence, into embryonic stem cells.

12 Sep 2007

Shaken not stirred for embryonic stem cells

Embryos spend much of their time in the womb bobbing along with a mother's movement, and, surprisingly enough, new research from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University suggests that embryonic stem cells may develop much better under similarly shaky conditions.

11 Sep 2007

New technique for growing cartilage from human embryonic stem cells

Rice University biomedical engineers have developed a new technique for growing cartilage from human embryonic stem cells, a method that could be used to grow replacement cartilage for the surgical repair of knee, jaw, hip, and other joints.

10 Sep 2007

Autophagy-induced signals are essential for normal development

A cannibalistic process called autophagy spurs dying embryonic stem cells to send "eat me" and "come get me" signals to have their corpses purged, a last gasp that paves the way for normal mammalian development, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

30 Aug 2007